Knights in White Satin
by FlamingWolf
Summary: Milliardo reflecting on his past.


I was raised to luxury, the prince of the rather wealthy nation of Sanc. I loved horses, fencing, music, books, chess- everything you would expect of a boy of my station. I was dressed in the richest fabrics. Silk, however, didn't sit well with me. I loved satin.  
It was well for me that I adored the gentlemanly arts. I was taught them and I had to master them, despite my clumsy dancing mistress. Perhaps she is the reason I hate formal affairs of state.  
My country was steeped in tradition. Despite the fact that Sanc was a pacifist dominion, I was trained as a knight. I learned all my skills to the best of my ability, for it was said that I was to be a king and that the lives of my people rested in my hands. I was afraid of that thought, and thus I went out of my way to assure that I wouldn't let them down. I learned fencing, archery, and marksmanship. Later, when I was around seven, they began to instruct me in the usage of mobile suits. I spent every moment I could with my tutors, and every evening was occupied by chess, books, or friendly arguments with my friend Treize concerning the finest points of philosophy. It gave him an edge later during the War of 195.  
Treize, however, became an orphan when his parents were assassinated, and my friend left me when Romafeller appeared on the scene, claiming that the Duke Kushrenada had arranged for just that occasion. I envied my friend his military training. Now, looking back, I am led to wonder if the Foundation itself had the Duke murdered, seeing the boy's military genius.  
I was now alone, but I had never minded solitude. I guess having so many siblings had made me withdrawn and quiet. I merely studied all the more. It is no idle boast for me to claim that I was the best. I was knighted at the young age of eight, dubbed 'the gentleman warrior.'  
I didn't become the lightning count until several years later.  
  
***  
  
I had studied politics, but I didn't quite understand the intricate game yet. It seemed to me that the colonies were trying to destroy the very mother planet that kept them alive. I knew that my country believed exclusively in peace, but most doctrines, including war, were an abstract to me. There was only today, and tomorrow's strategy.  
So it came as a deep shock when my tranquil universe, home of a naïve knight of eight, was destroyed violently for no apparent cause. The colonies believed themselves well rid of the peace-speakers that denied them the war that would free them of the Earth. I didn't understand this. Nightly, daily, my world narrowed to an insatiable thirst for vengeance. I had the skills for war. I would now use them.  
  
***  
  
Christmas Eve began as the usual gala celebration. I soon became bored with the endless ceremony and slipped out to a small, heated shed hidden among the roses and the pines, reveling in the silence and solitude. I gazed at the small portrait that I had hung on the wall, studying the face of my baby sister. She had been moved to the protection of the Vice- Minister's estate, and I missed her sorely. Would she remember us, or would she grow up fully Darlian?  
My musings were interrupted by sounds new to me: alarms and energy weapon discharge. Instinctively, I threw myself to the floor as the roof crashed down on top of me. Sore, I crawled from beneath the ruins of my childhood haven. I stretched and froze in that ridiculous position. The magnificent palace of Sanc, the one place I had thought to be eternal, lay in ruins. I was the only survivor of the Peacecrafts.  
Heart sick, I went to Romefeller. Under their intense training, I was one of the top flyers in the Earth Sphere, and attained the rank of Lieutenant of the OZ specials. As an officer, I remained a gentleman. I fought during the day, and at night mingled with the top men in the system. I was still a knight in white satin. Soon after my commission, I met my commanding officer: Colonel Treize Kushrenada. My friend and I were again inseparable. It was he who reminded me that the Peacecrafts were ostensibly dead. I became Zechs Merquise and was transferred to the Antarctica Base, remaining there until the first whispered rumors of Operation Meteor.  
I need not remind those of us who live of the war that is still so fresh in our minds. I wasn't in white very often during that year, but I still kept an eye on the mercenary named 'Black Velvet'. It has been three years, and I have abandoned the terra-forming project to those better qualified to become an ambassador of peace. Still, I remain a knight in white satin. 


End file.
